Crown Prosecutor

Job summary

As a Crown Prosecutor you’re based in the magistrates’ court, working with prosecution teams to review and present evidence in cases ranging from common assault to drugs offences.

The Crown Prosecutor position is our entry level lawyer role. It is ideal if you’re a newly qualified lawyer or have no criminal law experience. You gain a wealth of exposure in the criminal court, further developing your legal knowledge and career progression.

Initially you work on more straightforward cases but should progress quickly to dealing with more serious casework. On completion of your Crown Prosecutor training, you’re able to advise police and other investigators (except statutory pre-charge advice), undertake advocacy, review and undertake case preparation in summary and either-way matters heard in the magistrates’ court.

As a Crown Prosecutor, your role involves advocacy in the magistrates’ court, where you spend most of your time. You work with stakeholders including the police, court staff and defence solicitors. You support victims and witnesses attending court to give evidence in contested matters.

You benefit from a structured induction, four-month training plan and opportunities to shadow colleagues across the organisation. Once you gain further experience, you have options to progress into senior crown prosecutor, crown advocate and legal manager roles.

Find out what our Crown Prosecutors say about working at the Crown Prosecution Service by visiting cps.gov.uk/careers/prosecutor.

Job description

Your roles and responsibilities:

• You prepare and present cases for prosecution in the magistrates’ court

• You advise police and other investigators on casework in a wide range of summary-only and some either-way offences

• You decide, based on evidence, whether prosecutions should proceed or be discontinued in matters heard in the magistrates’ court

• You explain our decisions clearly to stakeholders including magistrates, counsel, victims, witnesses and the police

• You work effectively as part of a multiskilled team

A more detailed job description document is attached to this advert.

Person specification

• You must be a qualified lawyer
• You must demonstrate your commitment to public service, making a difference to the communities we serve and our Crown Prosecution Service values
• You’re focused on personal development and career progression

Qualifications

•You must be a qualified Solicitor or Barrister in England and Wales
•You must hold, or be able to obtain, a current practising certificate for England and Wales prior to appointment
•You must be entitled to practise and meet all relevant professional regulatory requirements
Pre-employment checks
You will need to provide evidence of your professional qualification and current practising status as part of pre-employment checks
This will include verification of your practising certificate, relevant qualification route, confirmation of your good standing with your regulator

OR

CILEx: You must be a Fellow of CILEx, and in addition be a CILEx Advocate/Litigator holding all three advocacy certificates providing them with a ‘general qualification’ within the meaning of s71 (3) (c) Courts and Legal Services Act 1990. You must have a right of audience in relation to any class of proceedings in any part of the Senior Courts, or all proceedings in County Court or magistrates' courts to meet the requirements for a Crown Prosecutor specified by section 1 Prosecution of Offences Act 1985.

Our job adverts reflect the currently accepted qualifications for CPS roles. Our job adverts will be updated if these requirements change.

If you’re unsure about your eligibility, contact NationalLawyerRecruitment@cps.gov.uk

Please contact us by email as soon as possible if your practising certificate has any restrictions or special arrangements.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• You must have completed a Legal Practice Course, Solicitors Qualifying Exam or Bar Vocational Course/Bar Professional Training Course. You must have completed the relevant pupillage or training contract.
• You must be a qualified barrister or solicitor.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,520, Crown Prosecution Service contributes £12,897 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

Join the Crown Prosecution Service and find your purpose

We want to ensure our employees can thrive at work and home and offer a range of support to achieve a balance. This includes flexibility of working hours, flexibility to support caring responsibilities and a flexible approach to deployment. While the Crown Prosecution Service operates a hybrid working policy, some roles - including the crown prosecutor role - must attend court for the full working week to carry out their role and responsibilities.

Delivering justice is a complex pursuit with work that is sometimes emotionally challenging, which is why we offer a range of benefits including:

• a Civil Service contributory pension of up to 28.9%
• 25 days’ leave, increasing to 30 days after 5 years
• lawyer training programme
• an extra privilege day to mark the King's birthday
• competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave
• flexible working and a family-friendly approach to work
• a Cycle2Work scheme, employee savings
• a range of learning and development activities, an individual learning account, and central and local development opportunities

Pay at the Crown Prosecution Service varies depending on your location.

Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Chippenham, Exeter, Hull, Ipswich, Leeds, Leicester, Lincoln, Middlesbrough, Mold, Newcastle, Northampton, Norwich, Nottingham, Sheffield, Stoke on Trent, Swansea, Swindon, Truro: £44,520 (starting pay), £47,720 (maximum pay)

Brighton, Canterbury, Chelmsford, Eastleigh, Guildford, Portsmouth, Reading: £46,800 (starting pay), £50,000 (maximum pay)

St Albans: £46,800 + £1,050 RRA (starting pay), £50,000 + £1050 RRA (maximum pay)

London: £46,800 + £3,150 RRA (starting pay), £50,000 + £3,150 (maximum pay)

You should expect to join on the starting pay unless you are joining on a level transfer from another government department.

The Crown Prosecution Service has fixed rates (as opposed to a pay range) for its Crown Prosecutor grade – the developing rate (the starting salary) and the spot rate (the rate for the job). You typically join on the developing rate and will move to the spot rate after successfully completing a 12-month structured development programme, along with confirmation by your line manager that you’ve demonstrated the required level of competence for the role.

Crown Prosecutors court attendance

Crown Prosecutor positions are court-based only. You are required to attend court daily, to carry out your role. The Crown Prosecution Service is a Disability Confident employer and we are committed to making reasonable adjustments to enable daily attendance at court.

We encourage you to consider if the commute from home to the court is a feasible distance to travel before making an application.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

Application

Submit your application through Civil Service Jobs by 11:55pm on 10 September 2026.

You need to attach your CV as one document of no more than two A4 pages - and don’t anonymise it.

Your CV should include your:

• contact email and number
• career history with key responsibilities
• skills and experience
• achievements
• qualifications
• postcode

We use your CV to check your eligibility and get an insight into your work history and experience only at offer stage should you be successful.

You need to provide the specified application information in the requested format to be considered for the post.

If you can’t provide three years’ employment or academic history, you will need a character reference for clearance purposes.

Assessment and interview – between 28 September 2026 and 2 October 2026

If you meet the eligibility criteria, you’re invited to a Microsoft Teams meeting where you complete a legal assessment followed by a short interview. You are assessed and interviewed by a panel of Crown Prosecution Service colleagues to assess your suitability.

Assessed at legal assessment and interview

Motivation - assessed at interview:

We want to understand why you’re interested in the law and why you want to work for the Crown Prosecution Service. We’re looking for you to address the following three things in your application and at interview.

1. A demonstrable interest in criminal prosecution and public service.
2. Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of the work of the Crown Prosecution Service and our role in the wider criminal justice system.
3. A strong focus on continuous learning and the ability to apply knowledge of criminal law gained from study and experience.

Ability: Legal Intellect - assessed at legal assessment:

We want to understand your legal abilities and your aptitude for criminal law. We’re looking for the following six things.

1. Knowledge and understanding of the key concepts and principles of criminal law
2. Reliable legal judgement and an appreciation of legal risk
3. Able to think strategically and creatively, see legal issues in their wider context and advise accordingly
4. Sound analysis, using secure legal research to produce timely and fit-for-purpose advice
5. Advocacy skills
6. Demonstrable knowledge and an understanding of the work of the Crown Prosecution Service and our role in the wider criminal justice system

Behaviours - we use behaviours to help us understand your experience, to help you do a great job in this role. Crown prosecutor candidates are assessed against SEO in the Civil Service success profiles behaviours framework. We are assessing two behaviours.

1. Making effective decisions (lead behaviour) - assessment and interview
2. Communicating and influencing - assessment

You are responsible for booking your own interview and assessment slot through Civil Service Jobs. Once you’ve selected your preferred time slot, we send you a Microsoft Teams link at least 48 hours prior.

These dates may be subject to change and it’s not always possible to offer alternative dates.

Diversity at the Crown Prosecution Service is about inclusion, embracing differences and ensuring our workforce truly reflects the communities we serve. We want you to feel that you belong and can thrive, whatever your background, identity or culture. As a Disability Confident employer, we're happy to support requests for reasonable adjustments and improve your recruitment experience. If you'd like any reasonable adjustments made to our recruitment process, let us know within your application or contact nationallawyerrecruitment@cps.gov.uk

Making offers - from 5 October 2026.

You can choose three office location preferences from the list provided. If you’re successful, we aim to offer one of your choices in the first instance. Whilst every effort is made to accommodate your location preferences, the Crown Prosecution Service is a national organisation with differences in operational recovery, vacancy levels and caseloads around the country – which means you may be offered a role in another Crown Prosecution Service area outside your stated preference.

This campaign will operate using locational merit lists. Candidates will be appointed in merit order within their chosen location.

We may use the lead behaviour making effective decisions to determine merit order where candidates have the same overall score.

If you are successful and already work for the Crown Prosecution Service, we will request a reference from your line manager following your offer.

Other

This is a full-time post. However, requests for flexible, part-time working and job share are considered – bearing in mind the operational needs of the business.

The Crown Prosecution Service is based in England and Wales. If you’re applying for this role and live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you must let us know when accepting this offer as you need permission to work from your home address if hybrid working is part of your role. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee of granting this approval.

The job you are applying for is covered by Article 3(a) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, consequently Section 4(2) of that Act does not apply. For the reasons outlined you are required to disclose all previous convictions and cautions, including spent convictions. Failure to make a full declaration results in the withdrawal of an offer of employment if our checks reveal convictions that have not been disclosed.

We are unable to offer visa sponsorship. If you require visa sponsorship to work in the UK, you will not meet the eligibility criteria for this role.

Reserve list

If all the posts are filled for your preferred locations, you’re put on a reserve list. You may be approached about an opportunity at a location outside your initial preference. Offers are always made in merit order.

The reserve list expires 6 months after the interviews take place and positions for your first preference can’t be guaranteed.

Timeline

Dates advertised are subject to change and it may not be possible to accommodate alternative requests for interviews and assessment.

Future Crown Prosecutor recruitment campaigns

If you do not wish to apply as part of this campaign, the next Crown Prosecutor campaign is planned to open on 21 September and close on 30 September 2026.

Please note that campaign dates are subject to change.

Meet and Engage sessions

We’re holding an online question and answer session whilst the vacancy is live. This is your chance to ask any questions about the role or the recruitment process. You can register for this now.

• 8 September at 1pm - https://meetandengage.com/amtbl039q

Need more information before you apply?

Our crown prosecutor chatbot is available 24/7 to answer your questions about the role, the recruitment process, and what to expect.

• https://meetandengage.com/amkfoamja

Fraud check
The Crown Prosecution Service provides a Fair Processing Notice to all new applicants after they’ve been successful at interview. These candidates are informed that, as one aspect of pre-employment screening, their personal details – name, National Insurance number and date of birth – are checked against the Internal Fraud Database. Anyone included on the database is refused employment unless they can demonstrate exceptional circumstances.

The Crown Prosecution Service, on behalf of the vacancy holder, informs applicants when they are refused employment because they’re included in the Internal Fraud Database.

Civil Service Commission
If you’re dissatisfied with the recruitment process and wish to make a complaint, please contact strategic.resourcing@cps.gov.uk with your concerns.

If you remain dissatisfied and wish to make a further complaint, you can do that through the Civil Service Commission complaints page.

Here are our Civil Service Commission recruitment principles.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a standard (or equivalent) criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : National Lawyer Recruitment Team
• Email : NationalLawyerRecruitment@cps.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : NationalLawyerRecruitment@cps.gov.uk

Attachments

Crown Prosecutor - Job Description Opens in new window (pdf, 27kB)CPS Terms and Conditions 2025 Opens in new window (docx, 255kB)